Best brunch restaurants in London

Jump to category:

1. Kolamba
2. Il Pampero at The Hari
3. Shanghai Brunch at Park Chinois
4. The Perception Bar at W London
5. Duck & Waffle
6. 45 Jermyn St
7. Quaglino’s
8. Theo Randall at the InterContinental
9. St Pancras Brasserie by Searcys
10. Yauatcha City
11. Dishoom

1. Kolamba

Right in the heart of Soho, you’ll find Kolamba serving up one of the most flavoursome and reasonably priced weekend brunches in London. The menu is full of Sri Lankan delights, from the egg hopper with kithul glazed bacon (a delicious mix of sweet and savoury) to the decadently creamy coconut rice dish called kiribath. All this can be washed down with a refreshing lime or pineapple juice – or a Sri Lankan-style cocktail if a boozy brunch is on the cards.

The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

Join more than 350,000 subscribers and keep yourself informed with a selection of The Week’s most interesting, enlightening and entertaining stories - plus daily puzzles.

Latest Videos FromThe Week

Watch full video here:

This year The Hari, in Belgravia, made it onto The Week’s list of the best hotels in London. Now the brunch menu at its restaurant, Il Pampero, receives a similar honour. Smart, fresh and unashamedly Italian, the menu offers a distinctive take on those sometimes over-familiar brunch staples. Tired of the conventional benedicts and royales? How about pairing your poached eggs with mortadella, burrata and truffle oil, or with prawn cocktail, chive hollandaise sauce and caviar? French toast and maple syrup may not get the heart racing, but what if it also comes with smoked duck breast, ricotta and fresh apricot?

It’s hard to say precisely what makes Park Chinois’ Shanghai Brunch a brunch, per se, as it kicks off at 12pm and there’s not a single egg in sight. Nevertheless, it’s a fun and certainly unforgettable way to while away a couple of hours on a Saturday afternoon thanks to its unique combination of Chinese food, top-quality booze and eclectic live performances, including aerial choreography, burlesque acts and even a haunting interpretive dance to a remastered Mary Poppins track.

And that isn’t the only basic the swish St James’s establishment does well. Coffee, juice, avocados and toast may all sound simple enough, but in the hands of the chefs at 45 Jermyn St, they are all elevated into something superior. The eggs, scrambled and mixed with cream, are quite possibly the most indulgent in London. And with a dollop of caviar or a side of salmon, they are pure brunching perfection.

Brunch at Quaglino’s can be a disconcerting affair. The food, the wine, the dramatic lighting – and your fellow diners, dressed to impressed – lull you into a late-night frame of mind, and you may well find yourself blinking in surprise as you emerge into the afternoon sunshine. The illusion starts the moment you step into the dark, cavernous restaurant and descend the illuminated stairs. Art-deco glamour oozes from every surface, from the velvet curtains of the cabaret stage to the gilded marble bar.

Celebrity chef Theo Randall’s weekend brunch invites diners to enjoy “la dolce vita” in true Italian style, with a generous four-course feast showcasing the best of the country's produce. Try not to fill up too much on the help-yourself antipasti – as tempting as the platters heaped with vibrant salads, cured meats and specials such as carne salata (thinly sliced Black Angus beef with shaved courgettes, rocket and Parmesan) – as to follow is Theo's signature vegetable ravioli and your choice of secondi.